Here’s a word association game: when you read “revolution,” what comes to mind? For students of Crystal Lamb and Jessica Freed, “Vietnam,” “Cambodia” and “China” didn’t. In fact, scores on their Global History state exam revealed an average of just 34% of students correctly answered questions related to these countries.

“In analyzing these results, we had to consider our own level of knowledge on these topics and how it may act as a barrier to our students’ success—not only on state exams but also in understanding the major economic and political revolutions that shaped the 20th century and continue to influence interactions between world powers today,” wrote Lamb and Freed in their Fund for Teachers grant proposal. “Upon reflection, we noted our limited knowledge on the topic, each revolution learned through the relationship with the United States and their foreign policy objectives of containment. This can also be reflected in the current curriculum we use which is dominated by documents with an American lens, discussions on stopping the spread of communism, and the role of the United States military within the region to promote this foreign policy.”

Last summer, they used a $10,000 Fund for Teachers grant to examine through the lens of art and culture the multifaceted perspectives of political and economic revolutions in China, Vietnam, and Cambodia to develop a culturally responsive curriculum that fosters critical thinking and an appreciation of multiple perspectives.

For two weeks, these FFT Fellows deepened their knowledge by interacting with people and experiencing sites integral to each country’s past (and future): learning about the legacy of Chairman Mao in mausoleums and museums; squeezing into underground tunnels dug by the Vietcong; and walking in Pol Pot’s Cambodian Killing Fields. They also experienced the spirituality of Angor Thom, calligraphy classes in Beijing and resistance at the Hanoi Hilton.

“I was changed by the opportunity to view history from the perspective of citizens of their country, understanding how viewpoints and perspectives vary greatly,” said Lamb. “I also benefitted from learning art practices from artists practicing in their country.”

Now their students at Bronx Bridges High School are benefitting from the fellowship, as well.

Recently, the teachers took students on a walking tour of Chinatown, where students learned about immigration and history and experienced new foods, with field trips to Vietnamese and Cambodian cafes and restaurants in the works. In Studio Art class, 9–12th grade students were introduced to the traditional calligraphy techniques we studied in Beijing, working with rice paper and natural-hair brushes. To provide authentic and direct instruction, students viewed videos Lamb filmed of their instructor in Beijing. This unit will culminate in the creation and presentation of a mini-museum display, with students from both Lamb and Freed’s classes incorporating artifacts, images, artwork, and propaganda collected throughout the fellowship to analyze how history is shaped by bias and perspective—learning to interpret history not as fixed, but as evolving and contested.

“Using photos from my experience has gotten history students very excited to learn not only about my experience, but to use my images to ground their learning,” added Freed. “I am seeing student interest and engagement grow in this topic as compared with previous years and am excited to see how the museum display projects turn out.”

“As educators, we must recognize that our understanding of history is influenced by dominant narratives, often reflecting the perspectives of those in power,” said Lamb. “By engaging with and interviewing locals, we gained insight into how these events are viewed by governments, historians, those in power, as well as those on the ground. And now this fellowship will continue to open doors for students and us to explore new perspectives and continually push back on biased or silenced narratives.”

Last summer with a Fund for Teaches grant, Dr. Shelina Warren and four peers from Dunbar High School in Washington DC embarked on a journey across five states in the Deep South to more effectively teach complex and accurate historical narratives about race, civil rights, and the African American experience. In advance of Martin Luther King Day, we reached out to Shelina to learn more about their experiences and how students are learning differently as a result… 

You saw/experienced/internalized so much history on your fellowship. Is there one moment that stands out above the others? 

One of the most profound moments of the fellowship was standing inside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, at the exact site where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his life. The emotional weight of being in that space was unexpectedly similar to what I felt days later in Mississippi—standing in the courthouse where Emmett Till’s killers were acquitted and near the river where his body was found. 

In both places, I felt the same question pressing in on me: 
How do we teach students not only what happened, but how people responded—and what those responses demand of us today? 

That question is at the heart of what I was trying to solve through writing and receiving this fellowship. 

And what were you trying to solve? 

Before the fellowship, my students could name incidents of racial violence—Martin Luther King, Jr., George Floyd, Breonna Taylor—but they struggled to articulate: 

• How people responded in those moments; 

• Why those responses mattered; and, 

• What choices they themselves are inheriting today 

A pre-survey I administered at the start of my Emmett Till unit confirmed this gap: 

• While students expressed strong emotional reactions to racial violence, many lacked confidence in explaining historical responses beyond protests or anger. 

• More than 80% of students indicated that primary sources, real locations, and personal narratives helped them understand people’s choices more than textbooks alone. 

• Nearly all students said they believe their responsibility today is to speak up when we see injustice, but many were unsure how to do so meaningfully. 

The fellowship helped me realize that place-based learning—standing where history happened—is essential to bridging that gap. 

How is your fellowship’s place-based learning informing students in the various classes you teach? 

I am currently teaching a mini-unit on Emmett Till grounded directly in the fellowship experience, which specifically features high school curriculum activities and resources I received from the Emmett Till Interpretive Center and Facing History & Ourselves. Students are engaging with: 

• Photos and videos I captured at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center, courthouse, barn, and river as primary sources; 

• Documentary clips and insights shared by scholar Ben Saulsberry; 

• Comparative inquiry connecting Emmett Till’s murder to Dr. King’s assassination and contemporary racial violence; and, 

• Structured discussions centered on the essential question: 
  As we pursue racial justice today, what can be learned from the choices people have made in response to racial violence in the past? 

“Seeing the real places where Emmett Till’s story happened made it feel real in a way textbooks never did. It made me think about what I would have done then—and what I should do now.” — Dunbar High School Law & Public Policy student 

Alongside this unit, I am developing: 

• A student-created video project modeled after the National Civil Rights Museum introductory film, highlighting the legacy of our Law & Public Policy Academy 

• Podcast episodes that weave together fellowship sites, including an on-location sound bite recorded outside Dooky Chase’s Restaurant—a historic civil rights strategy space 

• A classroom Matter of Law panel series inspired by the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where students examine court cases and consider legal vs. moral justice 

With two decades of teaching and a Ph.D. in Urban Leadership, is there anything new that you learned on this fellowship? 

Visiting Dr. King’s childhood home, final resting place, and the King Center in Atlanta helped me more fully understand the arc of his life—not just his death. Seeing where he was raised, where his ideas were nurtured, and where his legacy is preserved allowed me to teach him not only as a martyr, but as a strategist, organizer, and human being. 

At the National Civil Rights Museum, I also learned the origins of the phrase Speaking Truth to Power through Bayard Rustin’s work. That learning reshaped how I frame activism for students—helping them see that justice requires both legal change and personal transformation. 

One quote from Studio BE in New Orleans captured this tension perfectly: 
“How do you look terror in the face and still muster the courage to love?” 

That question now anchors my classroom. Love, I tell my students, is not passive—it is a deliberate act of resistance, one Dr. King embodied fully. 

I’m extending our fellowship’s beyond my students and me through: 

• Podcast episodes shared with families and the community 

• Ongoing conversations with colleagues about replicating place-based learning locally 

• An upcoming Humanities Circle presentation where I will share my Emmett Till unit and fellowship-based strategies 

The recent CBS Sunday Morning update about preserving the Emmett Till barn—and Shonda Rhimes’ continued support—only reaffirmed why access to these sites matters. Memory is fragile. Place helps protect it. 

At the heart of this fellowship is the belief that guides my work: So that others may learn. This experience strengthened my commitment to teaching truthfully, lovingly, and courageously, and to helping students understand that their responses to injustice matter. 

Four Native American tribes once inhabited the territory that now comprises Tulsa, OK, where students of Rachel Langley and Jesse Wren attend school. Additionally, one-third of their students are descendants of Tribal Peoples. But how does one teach elementary students about complex topics such as land rights and Tribal sovereignty? Jesse and Rachel chose to learn from a community (and state) that’s made great strides to reclaim their own indigenous heritage – Hawaii. 

The Fellow team wrote in their 2025 grant proposal: “Late in the 20th Century, Hawaii began a ‘Cultural Renaissance’ with a focus on preserving what had been lost. This Hawaiian story parallels the history of Oklahoma…By using the stories of others, students will be able to make connections and draw comparisons that will allow them to make decisions that will impact their own community. As Tulsa tries to reconnect to its roots in Native culture, students can use the examples from Hawaii to deepen their understanding of what it means to preserve culture without losing its authenticity.” 

What that meant for Rachel and Jesse was researching Hawaiian traditions and history while experiencing that unique ecosystem to create interdisciplinary projects exploring cultural preservation of Oklahoma’s Native American communities. 

“Convincing our selection committee of a teacher’s need to learn in tropical sites like Hawaii is a tough sell,” said Karen Eckhoff, Fund for Teachers executive director. “These teachers made it clear that, for them, Hawaii wasn’t a vacation, but a necessary destination to deepen students’ cultural competency, awareness and appreciation.” 

Rachel felt this, both in the writing and pursuit of their fellowship. 

“Planning an educational experience to a tourist destination is difficult,” she said. “Even with the research we did prior to our adventure, we found that many itinerary spots had been westernized. (One person used the term “Disney-d.”) I soon discovered that my best experiences came from the people I met along the way. Once we explained that we were teachers looking at what it means to reclaim indigenous culture, people were more than willing to share their history, struggles, and stories.” 

Instead of staying at a resort, Jesse and Rachel stayed in private residences. They avoided tourist sites in favor of learning led by Indigenous Hawaiian and Pacific Islander people. Exploring Hawaii’s Plantation Village offered insight into the lives of diverse Indigenous groups who contributed to Hawaii’s sugar industry from 1850–1950 and provided a lens for discussing themes like cultural adaptation, labor history, and social equity. Service learning came in the form of volunteering at the He’eia Fishpond, a cultural site lost to large corporate farming practices for sugar and pineapple and now being reclaimed as a touchstone of Hawaiian heritage.  

“Volunteering with Paepae o He’eia to restore the ancient He’eia Fishpond was transformative,” said Jesse. “The hands-on work tied to cultural preservation deepened my understanding of ecological and Indigenous restoration. Another powerful moment came from sailing with a Native Hawaiian family, where we prepared food, heard oral legends, and joined a sunset ceremony. Both experiences showed that true learning begins with respect, relationships, and community-rooted knowledge.”

Rachel and Jesse are now intent on translating their experiential learning to students in multiple ways, starting with their 120-acre school campus. Collaborating with an Ohio classroom through the National Air and Space Museum’s Teacher Innovator Institute, students are applying the design cycle to reimagine their own school grounds as spaces for inquiry, collaboration, and cultural storytelling. The school in Ohio is contributing ecological expertise, and our school is sharing Indigenous perspectives on honoring the land. “Through data collection, podcasting, and cross-campus consulting, students are becoming both designers and stewards while discovering that outdoor learning is not just about science. It’s about identity, belonging, and respect for the places we inhabit,” said Jesse. 

“This exchange continues the spirit of our Hawaiian fellowship,” continued Jesse, “connecting young people to the land and to one another through creativity, cultural understanding, and hands-on environmental learning. It also demonstrates how lessons rooted in Indigenous wisdom can shape not just classrooms, but the way future generations imagine and care for their world.” 

Many teachers are already into their first weeks of school; however, FFT Fellow Prince Johnson (Food and Finance High School – New York, NY) is still being a student on his fellowship in Japan. We caught up with him mid-fellowship to hear about how he is observing Tokyo’s urbanization, Kyoto’s cultural landscapes, and Hiroshima’s history to create lessons connecting Japan’s geography and history and foster students’ global awareness and critical thinking.

Q: You are packing so much into your fellowship traversing Japan. Can you get a sense yet of the biggest takeaway from this experience?

A: My greatest takeaway has been the power of place-based learning to illuminate complex global issues. Standing in Hiroshima during the Peace Ceremony deepened my understanding of resilience, reconciliation, and the human cost of conflict. Experiencing Osaka’s energy, Kyoto’s preservation of tradition, and Tokyo’s blending of innovation and history reinforced the importance of cultural context in teaching global history and human geography. These moments will directly inform how I help students connect historical events to present-day challenges and opportunities.

Q: What inspired you to apply for a Fund for Teachers grant to make this happen?

A: I first applied for a Fund for Teachers fellowship in 2009, when I traveled to Indonesia to explore cultural, historical, and educational connections that I could bring back to my students. That experience profoundly shaped my approach to teaching—showing me the power of immersive, self-designed professional learning. When I applied again, I was drawn to the opportunity to design an experience that was entirely tailored to my students’ needs, my school’s context, and my own professional growth. I sought FFT because it allows teachers to be the architects of their own learning, rooted in purpose and possibility.

Q: This summer, alone, you have completed the Goethe-Institut Deutschland fellowship and the NYU Steinhardt fellowship in Paris – in addition to being asked to join the NYCPS Climate Education Leadership team. Clearly, you strive to grow and enrich your teaching practice. What makes Fund for Teachers unique from all of your other professional development opportunities?

A: While I am deeply honored by the recognition I have received throughout my career, FFT is different because it is not an award for past accomplishments—it is an investment in future impact. Many honors acknowledge what has already been achieved, but FFT asks: What will you do next? It empowers teachers to dream big, to take risks, and to bring back something truly unique to their students and communities. It’s deeply personal, profoundly student-centered, and built on the belief that teachers are innovators, not just implementers.

Prince actively posts on Instagram @mrjonsoncte. And (you heard it here first), he was just named 2025 New York History Teacher of the Year by The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

Students of Washington D.C.’s Dunbar High School walk in the footsteps of trailblazers such as the first Black graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, the first Black U.S. Senator elected by a popular vote, and the head academic researcher on Brown v. The Board of Education. Established in 1870 as the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth and eponymously named in 1916 for the celebrated poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar, the school remains the first and oldest public high school for Black students.

Considering this distinctive history, school officials chose to center student learning around Sankofa, a principle derived from the Akan people of Ghana signifying the primacy of remembering the past to make positive progress in the future. And these students’ future is informed by four teachers who joined together to craft a Fund for Teachers fellowship researching the African American experience across five states in the Deep South.

“Collectively, based on student townhalls, class discussions, and private conversations with students, our students seem disconnected from society in that they feel that, as teenagers, they can’t make a difference in society or that their voice doesn’t matter, which directly connects to our school’s values of activism and pride,” wrote team leader Dr. Shelina Warren in her grant proposal. “More importantly, our students’ lack of historical context helps play a considerable role in this disconnect, as they see the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s as a study of long-ago history, distancing the powerful movement from contemporary struggles. Sadly, many of our African American students, as well as our ELL students, do not know much about African American history.”

The team’s itinerary included stops at historically-relevant sites, such as the home of Medgar Evers, the National Center for Civil & Human Rights in Atlanta, and 16^th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. Less prominent locations holding equal significance were the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in the Mississippi Delta, the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park in Montgomery and TEP Center in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward where they met Dr. Leona Tate, who – with two other six-year-old girls – integrated their elementary school an hour before Ruby Bridges did the same across town.

Their fellowship ran the gamut of emotions, from experiencing the story of slavery at the Whitney Plantation outside of New Orleans to later that day taking a walking tour of Tremé within the city. “Teachers from the first Black high school in the Unites States exploring the first Black neighborhood in the United States – so powerful!” said Dr. Warren.

“Experiential learning opportunities such as those provided by the Fund for Teachers fellowship are so beneficial for students,” said DCPS Chancellor, Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee. “We’re proud of how Dr. Warren and her social studies team at Dunbar make connections for students with a real-life history lesson—imparting knowledge through tours of renowned civil rights landmarks across the South.”

Two quotes seemed to epitomize this fellowship for the team: One explained in a museum and another found in a contemporary painting hanging in a gallery.

“I’ve always used the phrase ‘Speaking Truth to Power.’ but I never knew where it came from until visiting the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis,” said Dr. Warren. “They had an exhibit there on the originator of this phrase, Bayard Rustin, who used these words to explain that justice requires both legal change and personal transformation.”

The second quote, painted on the side of an art studio in New Orleans, captured how Dr. Warren plans to use new insights and experiences going forward in the classroom.

“’How do you look terror in the face and still muster the courage to love’ was a quote featured on a piece of art in a New Orleans’ gallery. It resonated with me because it shows that resistance is a form of power, and love is a tool used by activists before me to fight terror. In my way, I responded to this quote by writing this grant, exposing my students to educational opportunities, and being a lifelong learner. My motto is ‘so that others may learn,’ which shows my passion for education & love for my people.”

“I remember setting foot on my first Boston snow in February 1992,” said FFT Fellow Thu-Hang Tran-Peou describing her arrival from Vietnam as a young girl. “It was my first encounter with tuyết (snow)—a word I had read, wrote, and pondered before but had never known. The coldness, the fragility of the white cluster melting in my hands—it felt like a metaphor for my identity as a Vietnamese immigrant and refugee.”

Beautiful, bracing and ephemeral. Everything about the life she and her family fled in Vietnam now abutted against assimilation.

“I lived in two worlds—ashamed of my Vietnamese at school and never fully confident in my English at home,” she continued. “I was told that success was when I could leave my Vietnamese roots and thrive as an ‘American’ with my new branches. Today, after 17 years as an educator, I find my reflection in the eyes of my students, who also navigate these dual identities.”

Thu-Hang and her FFT Fellow teammate Thuy Nguyen teach at Boston Public School’s Mather Elementary, the oldest public school in North America, where they are charged with implementing the Vietnamese Dual Language (VDL) program for fifth and sixth grades. (EdWeek recently reported on their work). The veteran teachers were inspired by the fellowship of 2024 Fellow Vincent Pham (Brooklyn, NY) after following his fellowship across Southeast Asia last summer and decided to design and submit their own proposal focused on ensuring that their students’ histories, heritages, and home languages are seen as assets to be embraced, not erased.

In a beautiful spirit of collaboration, Thuy and Thu-Hang met up with Vincent in New York this spring to collaborate on fine tuning their upcoming fellowship itinerary. In August, the teaching duo will navigate across Vietnam’s three regions—Ha Noi in the North, Hoi An and Hue in the Central, and Ho Chi Minh City in the South — to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Saigon’s fall, gain linguistic proficiency in various dialects, and explore community spaces that represent the interplay of language, commerce, and culture in daily life. They will document each experience through oral interviews, videos/digital film, photography, and primary artifacts to bring back to share and teach in the classrooms.

“Over the past five decades, three generations of our Vietnamese families have navigated the complexities of displacement, survival, and identity,” wrote Thuy and Thu-Hang in their grant proposal. “From our parents, who risked their lives on perilous boats to escape conflict and rewrite their histories; our generation, navigating the tension between forgetting and forging a new identity in a foreign land; and our students, who now piece together hope for the future as the first cohort of Vietnamese bilingual learners. By embracing the diverse backgrounds of our students – culturally, linguistically, and even racially – we will create a learning environment that not only celebrates their differences but also unites them in shared pride and purpose in our Vietnamese Dual Language (VDL) Program, the first and only in the school district and Massachusetts”